Little Blue and Little Yellow

I've read this book to my daughter in French and English. She only understands English but enjoyed the book in both languages. The illustrations, the words and the meaning are absolutely beautiful. I recommend every home have at least one copy of Little Blue and Little Green.

To an adult, this book doesn't seem like anything all that special. It's about colored dots. The story is sweet, though, and easy for young children to appreciate. My multi-age 3-5 year old classroom loved it (I used it with our science unit on colors). It's great for talking about color (blue and yellow make green) and about appreciating differences (race). I heard a horror story from a fellow teacher about this book that other teachers should be aware of: a kindergarten teacher read this book to her students and was repremanded by her principal. He said that when little blue and little yellow hug, and make green, it is sexual. He also said that it is racist that little blue's parents are blue and little yellow's parents are yellow and this does not reflect a multi-cultural view. Both of these seem silly to me. Just be aware. Personally, I love it and so did my students!

Ever feel like you've been stumped by a book? Like a moral of a story has been staring you in the face and you're just too slow or dim-witted to get it? Such was my reaction after reading Leo Lionni's elusive, "Little Blue and Little Yellow". I liked it. Of course I did. But on my honor as a gentleman I just did NOT get the book's message. Which is perhaps exactly as it should be.We all are familiar with Leo Lionni's work, even if we don't initially think we are. Whether you've seen his cut out mice or forest scenes, his is a recognizable style. In this particular book Lionni has relied on roughly hewn pieces of brightly colored paper (or is it fabric?) to tell a story. The tale follows two blobs of color. On is Blue. The other is Yellow. Yellow and Blue are good friends and lead productive blobby lives with their other little friends. They play games, attend school, etc. One day Blue looses Yellow for a little while and when they are reunited they hug until they meld into a single splotch of green. The single green splotch, however, looks nothing like Blue or Yellow. Whatever will our intrepid heroes do?Suffice to say, all turns out well in the end. The status quo is maintained, peace reigns, yadda yadda yadda. So what's the moral of the story? Just to help you figure it out, the last two pages of the text display Blue and Yellows momma and poppas hugging one another until THEY turn green. Maybe it doesn't mean anything at all. But it certainly does make for an interesting tale. Nothing like simplicity to tie up the ole synapses for a while. I can see children enjoying this book. I can also see different children growing bored with this book. It really is going to depend on the child more than anything else. If you have a kid that likes rousing adventures about (oh I dunno) tangible objects, this may not be the book for them. If, however, you've a child who's a little more dreamy. A little more open to different kinds of stories and characters, consider this book a perfect fit. Colorful, interesting, and unique. Lionni does many things with this book, but he does not disappoint.

My parents' copy of this wonderful, colorful picture book is taped back together after reading it to three young children. I remember loving the pictures and the simple story. I plan on reading it to my kids (if I can only get my mom to give it up!) and hope they'll love it as much as I did. Little Blue and Little Yellow is such a fantastic book because of the universal concepts in it: love, friendship, and parenting. I recommend it to teachers, parents, babysitters, and kids.

This is a sweet book that is simple yet complex. On the surface it is a story of two color friends that blend together, but if you look deeper you can see the lessons of race relations. One of my favorite books by Lionni.